Highlands Current Audio Stories

Republican congressman holds event in Somers

Voters in Rep. Mike Lawler's suburban New York swing district, which includes Philipstown, unloaded a barrage of criticism on the Republican during a raucous town hall in Somers on Sunday (May 4), peppering him with questions around President Donald Trump's aggressive agenda before devolving into a chaotic chorus of boos as attendees were removed by law enforcement.

Lawler has promised to hold town halls in Dutchess and Putnam counties in June. He hosted one in Rockland County on April 27 that was equally raucous.

The event in Somers began to teeter off the rails soon after it began. The first crack emerged when Lawler, in his opening remarks, told the packed prep school auditorium: "This is what democracy looks like."

Laughter crept through the crowd.

A little while later, the congressman's mention of federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drew loud jeers.

"So you want, for instance, petroleum-based dyes to continue?" Lawler asked in response.

Republicans, in some instances, have made themselves scarce in their home districts following Trump's first few months in office, as party leadership expresses wariness of viral blowback against Republicans in vulnerable seats.

Lawler, a moderate who last year won a second term and has openly expressed interest in running for governor, has instead put himself in front of voters.

On Sunday, Lawler's staff required people to RSVP and set up a series of ground rules, including that attendees live in the district, not record at the event, refrain from shouting or standing, and "be respectful of one another, of staff, and of the congressman," a sign at the door read.

At one point, as Lawler was responding to a question about tariffs, security and law enforcement began to surround a woman in the upper stretch of the auditorium. The crowd chanted "let her stay, let her stay" before law enforcement picked her up and carried her out. It was unclear what exactly led to her removal.

"Shame! Shame! Shame!," the audience yelled.

Lawler tried to get back on track: "Folks, tariffs are way more complicated than you want to make them."

The crowd groaned.

"Folks, enough!" Lawler said above the din.

Soon after, another person was removed. Then another.

In the audience, Jeanette Spoor, a 74-year-old retiree, said she wanted to ask Lawler about Social Security and Medicaid but wasn't called on during the nearly two-hour event. "You're not helping your constituents if you're making it hard for them to get help," she said in an interview. "I have no hopes for this guy."

Another attendee, Kristi Thompson, 52, said she was bothered by what she said were Lawler's long-winded answers that didn't address the substance of the crowd's questions. "He claims to be available to constituents, but he isn't," she said.

The crowd walked out during the final question of the night, which was about protests against Israel. Lawler began to answer but cut himself off as the room emptied out.

"I appreciate everybody coming out tonight and taking the time to ask your questions and hear my answers, whether you liked them or not, or agreed with them or not, or whether you really actually wanted to listen to them or not, but I very much appreciate you participating," he said.

Federal court rulings reassure board members

The Haldane school board plans to reinstate the district's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policy at its Tuesday (May 6) meeting, two weeks after suspending the standards in a bid to safeguard $450,000 in federal funding threatened by the Trump administration's opposition to DEI programs.

The reversal came after federal judges in Maryland, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., on April 24 temporarily blocked the administration from cutting funding to schools with what the White House characterizes as "illegal" practices.

Those rulings occurred the same day the administration chose as the deadline for local school districts to certify they had eliminated DEI policies and operated in compliance with Title VI the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits racial discrimination in federally funded programs. The Haldane board also passed a resolution asserting the latter.

A day later, New York and 18 other states filed a federal lawsuit challenging the certification requirement. They called the directive "unprecedented and unlawful," and said DEI initiatives actually support civil rights law.

Haldane voted unanimously on April 22 to suspend its DEI policy pending "clarification of the conflict between the respective positions of the state and federal governments regarding Title VI and DEI," according to the resolution.

On Wednesday (April 30), the district issued a statement that said its legal counsel had advised that the federal rulings could be interpreted to mean "there is no longer an imminent risk of losing funds." The statement said the board will reinstate the DEI policy "without modification and will continue to address all policy revisions through its standard review process."

Carl Albano, the interim superintendent, said the five-member board made the decision after meeting in a closed session on Tuesday with Michael Lambert, its attorney from Shaw, Perelson, May & Lambert, which represents and advises many area districts.

Haldane Statement

On April 29, 2025, the Haldane Board of Education met in executive session with legal counsel from Shaw, Perelson, May & Lambert. Counsel advised that, based on the April 24, 2025, rulings by three federal court judges temporarily blocking the U.S. Department of Education from implementing and enforcing its Feb. 14, 2025, Dear Colleague Letter, the Feb. 28, 2025, Frequently Asked Questions and the April 3, 2025, certification requirement, there is no longer an imminent risk of losing Title funds related to the Title VI certification requirement. As a result, the Board intends to reinstate its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy at its May 6, 2025, meeting without modification and will continue to address all policy revisions through its standard review process.

Read Haldane letter to community.

"The board was surprised by the level of acrimony" from the community in response to its vote, said Peggy Clements, its president. "Many of us wish we had said more during and after the [April 22] meeting to explain that the suspension was temporary, that this was a difficult decision for us given our commitment to the aims of the policy, that we believed federal funding was truly at risk if we didn't act by April 24, and that we were making the decision because we believed that protecting the funds was in the best interests of students."

Clement said that she and another board member will be at a Haldane PTA meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday (May 5) at the Butterfield Library in Cold Spring to answer questions about the DEI policy.

Albano said that district residents told him they had hoped the board would take a more defiant stance, as Harvard University did when it refused changes demanded by the administration despite a threat to end $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts. "We don't have a $53 billion endowment like Harvard," said Albano.

The Haldane district has an annual budget of about $30 million. The $450,000 in feder...

Two attendees ejected from Rockland town hall

Many of the 700 people attending Rep. Mike Lawler's town hall on Sunday (April 27) in Rockland County clearly brought vinegar when co-moderator Brendel Logan-Charles, the deputy supervisor for the Town of Ramapo, asked, "Who knows the end of this saying: 'You can get more with honey than you can with …' "

Catcalls and jeering erupted as she and Teresa Kenny, the Orangetown supervisor, recited ground rules before Lawler, whose 17th District seat includes Philipstown, walked onstage in the auditorium at Clarkstown High School South in West Nyack. It was the first in a series of four town halls - Lawler has said he will visit Dutchess and Putnam counties in June, although locations and dates have not been announced.

Although Republican leaders have told House members not to hold town halls because of the negative response over federal cuts being implemented by the Trump administration, Lawler said in March he would host four events to show his "independence and willingness to buck party leadership to engage with his constituents."

A town hall hosted in Poughkeepsie on March 19 by Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat whose district includes Beacon, had a different tenor, although spectators expressed frustration over what they see as a tepid Democratic response to Trump. Several protestors supporting Palestine who began yelling at Ryan were removed.

Entering to a mixture of boos and applause in West Nyack, Lawler spent 90 minutes parrying questions about cuts to federal programs and employees, Medicaid and Social Security, the Trump administration's deportation practices and the belief that Congress is failing to oppose the Republican president's decisions.

Police and security guards escorted at least two people from the event and warned several others. But the warnings did not stop intermittent shouts of "liar," "blah, blah, blah" and other jeers as Lawler answered questions. Part of his final comments were drowned out by chants of "Leave her alone" as police and security guards surrounded a woman they wanted to eject.

Below are most of the questions, in the order they were asked, and excerpts from Lawler's answers. Both have been edited slightly for brevity and clarity.

You describe yourself as a moderate, yet you support the policies this authoritarian administration is putting forth. … What are you doing to stand in opposition to this administration, and what specifically are you doing that warrants the label "moderate"?

My record speaks for itself. I have been rated the fourth-most-bipartisan [member of the U.S. House] for a reason, which is a simple fact that unlike many of my colleagues, I do work across the aisle; I do sit down with my colleagues.

At the end of this year, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act [passed in 2017 under the first Trump administration] is going to expire. If the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires, do you know what will happen? The standard deduction will be cut in half. That will be the largest tax increase in American history. The corporate tax rate is set at 21 percent and I don't support lowering it. … I do support lifting the [$10,000] cap on SALT [deduction for state and local taxes], which directly impacts all of us in this room.

Tariffs are obviously something that has been a big point of discussion for many years. [Sens.] Chuck Schumer [of New York] and Bernie Sanders [of Vermont] said [in the past] they supported increasing tariffs, and part of the reason is because other countries have had significantly higher tariffs, barriers to entry and price controls on U.S. goods.

You supported a budget that cut Medicaid and education in our district. How does that serve your constituents? [Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, are debating cuts to Medicaid to offset lost revenue from tax cuts.]

When it comes to Medicaid, I've been very clear: I am not cutting benefits for any eligible recipient, period. The fact is that our community relies on these vital program...

Main Street anchor in Beacon opened in 2003

Hudson Beach Glass, a Main Street fixture in Beacon for the past 22 years, has put its building and business at 162 Main St. on the market for $3.75 million. The two couples that own the glassworks hope to retire.

Founded in 1987, Hudson Beach Glass opened its Main Street gallery in October 2003, two years after John and Wendy Gilvey and Michael Benzer and Jennifer Smith paid $270,000 to purchase 162 Main from the city. The three-story brick structure, built in 1893 as the Lewis Tompkins Hose Co. firehouse, later was home to the nonprofit Community Action Coalition.

When the new owners took over, the structure was "in terrible shape, with plumbing issues and windows falling out," said John Gilvey. But "we knew we were on the precipice of something happening," Smith said - which was the arrival of Dia Beacon, a 240,000-square-foot museum on the waterfront that jumpstarted a cultural renaissance for the city.

After buying the building, the couples had $30,000 left. They completed the rehabilitation with a $300,000 federal loan.

John Gilvey and Benzer met in 1975, the year Gilvey began making glass. They kept in touch sporadically before running into each other at All Sport Health & Fitness in Fishkill in 1984. "All of the showers were taken, so we're both standing there naked," Benzer recalled. "It was a perfect way to start a business." Gilvey had been taking his creations to trade shows since 1977 and, by 1982, had contracts with major department stores.

After graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1982, Benzer began hot-casting glass tiles and custom shapes out of a Maple Street facility that still doubles as his home. Placing an ornamental bowl on a tile-turned-saucer, his work was both decorative and functional, "and it took off - fast," said Gilvey.

Benzer and Smith handled manufacturing and shipping while the Gilveys, craft-fair warriors, managed marketing and customer service. In 1999, a college friend called Benzer to alert him that the Dia Art Foundation was negotiating to open its museum in a former Nabisco box factory.

"That's when we concentrated all our energy on finding a location" for a glassworks and showroom, Benzer said. They looked on the east end of Main, where Ron Sauers and Doug Berlin were redeveloping brownstones. They considered the building that is now home to Alps Sweet Shop. Eventually they beat out two other bidders for the 6,300-square-foot former firehouse, which had been decommissioned two decades earlier.

"It was perfect timing to stop schlepping things around and have people come to us," said Wendy Gilvey. "People came all this way, and when they got up to Main Street, they were happy to find us."

On a cold, rainy day in January 2003, Hudson Beach Glass opened its doors for Beacon's first Second Saturday, which was modeled on Philadelphia's First Fridays. Despite having no heat and only a single shelf of glassware, "people actually came and bought stuff," John Gilvey said. "We started bringing in people who wouldn't normally come to a glass studio. That worked for us. When those people needed to buy a wedding gift, they came here."

Mayor Lee Kyriacou, who joined the City Council in 1993, said he hopes that similarly creative investors will emerge to purchase the decommissioned Beacon Engine and Mase Hook and Ladder fire stations that the city listed for sale this week. "You're walking up Main Street and it's hard to miss them," he said of Hudson Beach Glass. "You can see how important they are and what a great job they did" rehabbing a high-profile building.

Once 162 Main St. is sold, the Gilveys plan to travel with their three children and two grandchildren. One son considered taking over the business but opted instead for Boundless Life, a program that offers a "globally connected education" for families willing to travel. It will take the family this fall to Tuscany for three months, with Japan, Greece and Spain as possible ...

Plans to challenge Putnam incumbent as independent

Larry Burke, a former officer-in-charge for the Cold Spring Police Department, has announced a campaign to challenge incumbent Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville in the fall election.

Both men live in Philipstown. Burke said he plans to collect signatures for a nominating petition by a May 27 deadline to get on the ballot as an independent. McConville is seeking his second, 4-year term on the Republican and Conservative lines.

Burke, 59, has worked in law enforcement for 37 years, including 26 years with the New York City Police Department. He joined the Cold Spring department in 2013 and served as officer-in-charge for seven years. He resigned in 2024 but continues as a part-time officer. Burke has also served as a firefighter with North Highlands Fire Co. for 12 years.

He spoke with The Current on Thursday (May 1). His responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

What was your role with NYPD?

I was a transit police officer for five years, riding and patrolling the subways in all the boroughs, 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. After that, I did regular patrols in the 40th precinct, South Bronx, for two years. I moved to the community policing unit, where you patrol a five- to 10-block area.

You get to know people, the residents, store owners and the bad guys. You learn about cultures; that people from Colombia, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic are different culturally in how they bring up their family, how they do certain things. It's how I learned community policing. You get into people's lives, understand them, understand their kids, understand where they're from. They might distrust the police because the military may have run the police department [in their native countries]. It was a learning experience for me, a white police officer in a predominantly minority neighborhood. It was good. It was about gaining friendships and mutual respect.

There must have been culture shock coming to Cold Spring.

The crime was a lot less than what I dealt with before! One school, one neighborhood, stores on Main Street. You get to know people a lot quicker. I was experienced but still had to start on midnights. I found it a little hard to adjust to seeing three deer in the middle of the street but no people at 2 a.m. When I started day shifts, I got out of the patrol car, started walking, got to know the community.

Is being an officer-in-charge enough experience to be sheriff?

I had to run a small police department. I knew how to be a patrol officer, but I didn't know about budgets. I didn't know about manpower. I didn't know how to deal with the county, the state. I learned a lot in seven years. I went through seven budget processes, learned what we could and couldn't afford, what to fight for, what to let go until the next cycle. I learned about hiring people and letting people go.

As my responsibilities increased, it built my confidence. I did the administrative work and I know I can do that with the county. I will reach out and hire a staff with expertise in the civil unit, the corrections unit, captain of patrol, captain of communications and other positions. I want to surround myself with intelligent people who know the police world. I want mutual support and to do the best job I can.

Is running as an independent realistic?

It is to me. There should be no politics in policing whatsoever, especially with today's atmosphere. Everyone's fighting at the national, state and county level. I'm a police officer and a volunteer firefighter. We don't look to see who's a Democrat and who's a Republican. We serve. I knew it was going to be hard running as an independent, but I'm not going to push one political party or another. And no one should run unopposed.

Why should residents vote for you?

I've dealt with Sheriff McConville personally. I've been in meetings with him, along with the chiefs of other police departments in the county, and what I've seen is division. It's his way or the highwa...

A hobby - but also disaster response

It wasn't marked by parades, fireworks or an interview on 60 Minutes, but World Amateur Radio Day was April 18.

For many, amateur, or "ham" radio, is viewed as a hobby from the past. But it's very much alive and more than a pastime, locally and internationally.

The century-old International Amateur Radio Union estimates there are 3 million operators in 160 countries, including 700,000 in the U.S., 540 in the immediate area, 50 in Philipstown and 43 in Beacon.

For many, interest in ham radio began early in life. As a 10-year-old, Joe Barbaro of Cold Spring loved listening to English-language, shortwave broadcasts from Germany, Russia and other faraway countries. "Radio Moscow was a favorite," he said. "Even at a young age I knew they were full of it, but it was fun to listen to."

He graduated to ham radio at age 14. "England was about the best I could do" for conversations, he said. "I didn't have powerful enough equipment for beyond that," he said. "I was kind of a minor-leaguer."

Another Cold Spring resident, Damian McDonald, got started at age 6. "My uncle was a Franciscan priest based in Bolivia, and the only way we communicated was ham radio," he said. "It was kind of magical, even with the static."

It motivated him to build his own ham radio from a Heathkit; today he has a mobile ham station in his car. Before he retired from a career in cybersecurity, he enjoyed conversations with other operators during his daily commute to New Jersey. "I could hold a conversation with the same person all the way down," he recalled.

McDonald noted that "emergency preparedness is still a core tenant of amateur radio," and Anesta Vannoy of Beacon would agree. She got into ham radio in 2018 as a disaster response chaplain. She wanted to assist at emergencies but, as a senior citizen, thought it could be difficult getting to the scenes of incidents.

She belongs to four networks: Westchester Emergency Communications Association, Mount Beacon Amateur Radio Club, Orange County Amateur Radio Club and the Harlem Emergency Network. "I like that I'm preparing myself to help others," she said.

She hones her skills at events such as the New York Airshow at Orange County Airport and the St. Patrick's Day parade in Wappingers Falls. She also attends trainings led by "elmers" from her networks - lingo for more experienced operators. Part of her weekly routine is checking her five radios to ensure each is charged and operational.

Her son, Raheem, will soon take the entry-level test for licensing by the Federal Communications Commission. Operators must pass tests at progressive levels: Technician, General and Amateur Extra.

Raheem is relearning Morse Code, a skill he acquired as a Boy Scout. Although Morse Code is no longer required, "it can still be useful in certain emergency situations," he said.

First responders see ham radio as an asset. Ralph Falloon, a Philipstown resident who is deputy commissioner of the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services, said operators are considered part of the county's emergency preparedness network and provide vital backup in situations such as interruptions to the power grid.

"The Putnam Emergency and Amateur Repeater League, or PEARL, has an office in our building," in Carmel, he said. "They have radio equipment here and mobile towers they can set up for mini-networks."

Robert Cuomo, Putnam's director of emergency medical services, offered an example: If the grid goes down and a hospital generator fails, ham operators could set up on site and communicate with ambulances. That's what happened in 2005 in New Orleans when the region's infrastructure was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. "In many cases, the only communication in and out was ham radio," he said.

PEARL hosts field days for operators. It includes contests to see who can speak to the most people around the world[ but also covers disaster training, Cuomo said. "They can't use commercial power - just a battery or generator....

Also, public hearing on budget scheduled for Tuesday

The Beacon school board agreed March 24 to a $60,000 payment to end a lawsuit filed by Daniel Glenn, a former South Avenue Elementary principal who was fired in 2023.

Glenn, who is Black, alleged in a federal civil suit filed last year that he had been the victim of "disparate treatment and a hostile work environment due to his race." He asked for damages and to be returned to his job with back pay.

After being hired in August 2021, Glenn said he told district officials in 2022 "that his job was permeated with racial discrimination on a continuous basis in the structure of how the school operated." He said he received no notice allowing him to contest allegations against him before being terminated in June 2023.

Glenn had been removed from his position five months earlier, replaced by an acting principal, Brian Archer, then the district's director of evaluation and student services. Before coming to Beacon, Glenn taught first and second grade for 19 years in the Newburgh district and was an assistant principal in New Paltz.

The district's response to his lawsuit, filed in June 2024, argued that there was insufficient evidence to "plausibly claim" that Glenn's dismissal was racially motivated. The district said the allegation that Superintendent Matt Landahl believed only the accounts of "unidentified teachers and students" whose racial identities were not named was "insufficient to allege discriminatory intent."

The settlement agreement, obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request, notes that Glenn's employment record was amended to show he was not dismissed but resigned. The district also agreed to provide a neutral reference that provides only his title and dates of employment. For his part, Glenn agreed not to apply for employment in the district "until the end of time." The settlement was paid by the district's insurance carrier.

Second lawsuit

A lawsuit against the district that alleged a student was assaulted by a classmate at school and on the bus has been resolved, according to court records. In legal documents, a parent alleged the child had been "sexually abused," "falsely imprisoned" and "psychologically tortured" during the fall of 2022.

The state judge held two settlement hearings before closing the case in July. In response to a Freedom of Information Law requested filed by The Current, school officials said the district "is not in possession of any documents" concerning a settlement. Eric Richman, the attorney who represented the parent, said he could not discuss the case because it had been sealed.

Budget hearing

The Beacon school board will hold a public hearing during its Tuesday (May 6) meeting on the district's $87.7 million budget proposal for 2025-26, the final step before voters are asked to approve the spending plan on May 20.

On April 22, the board unanimously approved the $87.7 million plan, which includes a 5.09 percent tax-levy increase. Most of the discussion in recent board meetings has revolved around the levy - or the total amount of property taxes the district can collect - which stands to increase because of new development and debt service on a $50 million capital project approved last year by voters.

The proposed revenue for 2025-26 includes $50 million in property taxes, about $32 million in state aid and $2.5 million taken from savings.

Administrators said the budget will allow the district to maintain smaller elementary class sizes, increased mental health support for students and a full-day pre-K program. For the first time, the district would launch a summer workshop program for incoming high school students and create an on-site mental health clinic at Rombout Middle School. The district would also hire additional teachers for elementary students struggling in math and reading and a part-time elementary speech instructor.

Towns, villages would split sales-tax revenue

Putnam legislators on Monday (April 28) discussed a plan to share sales taxes with the county's municipalities - including Cold Spring, Nelsonville and Philipstown - two weeks after County Executive Kevin Byrne outlined a proposal.

Members of the Audit Committee reviewed a proposal to distribute $3 million of $90 million in reserves to aid the county's six towns and three villages. The money, allocated based on population, could be used on infrastructure and capital projects and "essential services," but not payroll.

Legislator Toni Addonizio suggested increasing the outlay to $5 million and allotting the same amount in 2026. She referenced a charge by Cold Spring Mayor Kathleen Foley that Putnam was "hoarding" money. "We don't want to hoard money; we want to give it out," said Addonizio.

Putnam's surplus, including savings allocated to expenses, hit $134 million this year, a level which Legislator Paul Jonke called "obscene." Michael Lewis, the finance commissioner, said Monday that unspent funds from unfilled positions and inflation-driven increases in sales-tax revenue fueled the surplus.

Legislator Greg Ellner said that Putnam's next annual audit, when released, will show another $8 million to $12 million in the surplus.

By sending some of that money to municipalities, Putnam would join 50 of the state's 62 counties that share revenue. Dutchess, for instance, distributes 2.35 percent of sales taxes collected to Beacon, 5.41 percent to the City of Poughkeepsie and 9.5 percent to its towns and villages.

A proposal unveiled by Byrne on April 15 and endorsed by the municipalities would share one-ninth of the 1 percent of sales-tax intake, which would have amounted to about $2.3 million based on 2024 revenue. It would take effect only if the state passes a pending bill allowing Putnam to continue collecting 4 percent, which it has done since 2007 when the state permitted the county to raise its rate by 1 percent.

The 4 percent rate has been repeatedly extended but expires on Nov. 30. State lawmakers must pass another extension before the end of the current session on June 12 or the rate will revert to 3 percent. The total sales tax in Putnam is 8.375 percent, which includes 4 percent for the state and 0.375 percent for the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District.

Legislator Nancy Montgomery, who represents Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley, said she likes Byrne's proposal because it is based on sales-tax revenue. If the county came to a point "where we have no fund balance," the money would not be distributed.

Montgomery, who once proposed a plan in which the municipalities would receive 50 percent of sales taxes over the amount budgeted, offered several amendments to the Audit Committee resolution: (1) that Byrne be involved in crafting the agreement, (2) that municipalities be allowed to spend on personnel "tied to short-term and public needs" and (3) that it include reporting and audit requirements.

"While I appreciate the efforts in including our municipalities in the resolution that you wrote, I think it requires a lot more," she told her colleagues. "I really wish you would have considered my resolution."

Foley, who was at the meeting, also expressed concerns, including that the proposal does not establish a minimum amount that municipalities would receive. Byrne's plan guarantees each town and village at least $50,000, a commitment particularly important for Nelsonville, whose 600 residents make it the county's smallest municipality.

Foley called for assurances that revenue-sharing would continue beyond next year, such as the long-term agreements Dutchess and other counties have in place.

Because of the surplus, the Legislature voted last month, 5-4, to ask the state to allow the county to lower its sales-tax rate to 3.75 percent, but Byrne vetoed the resolution and proponents did not have the six votes needed to override. The county executive cited the loss of a...

Quinn's in Beacon hosts monthly open mic

Aside from local celebrity Mary Poppiins playing the spoons and Beacon High School junior Teo Fairbanks sitting in on drums, the house band and most of the visiting musicians at Quinn's monthly jazz jam in April came from afar.

Pianist Elliot Steele, who drove 75 minutes from Catskill, has attended every first Monday session for the past three years. (It happens again at Quinn's on May 5.) Trumpet player Josh Economy trekked across the river from Walden, and drummer Jeremy Holman bopped down from New Paltz to check out the vibe and socialize. "I'm way out of practice," he says.

Steve Scholz, a piano player who lives an hour away in Germantown, says it's worth the trip - not so much to jam along on two songs, but because "there's a big sense of community."

Horns, guitars and spoons are BYO. Chris Talio (bass) and Matthieu Carvin (electric keyboard) offer their instruments to regulars and strangers alike as host Bryan Kopchak reads the room to assemble compatible combos. Most participants play piano or drums and the house set, a compact vintage Ludwig model, is well-suited for jazz.

Because no other bass players showed up at Quinn's on April 7, Talio put in yeoman's work. During his dinner break, Poppiins pulled out the spoons and improvised with Kopchak, who lives in Central Valley.

"This is the bestest place to be on a Monday night in Beacon," said Poppiins, who established the rhythm. Kopchak started on brushes, then picked up the sticks and hit the drums' metal rims. Sounding like tap dancers, they created enough variation to keep things interesting.

According to Kopchak, the jazz cats began hanging at Quinn's about 10 years ago, took a hiatus during the pandemic and returned in February 2022. The forum gives younger students a chance to mix it up with experienced musicians in a real-world setting.

Fairbanks plays trumpet with the high school big band and a smaller group, but he is also adept behind the drums. Anticipating his turn at Quinn's, he took a seat near the stage, bobbing his head, tapping his feet and staring at the kit.

After Kopchak counted off "one, two, you know what to do," Fairbanks locked in with Steele on piano as they exchanged improvised call-and-response riffs. When Talio took an experimental flight, Fairbanks kept pace, incorporating the tom-toms into beats that complemented the tune.

Fairbanks' parents, professional trombone player Jeff and cellist Choi, instilled a love for the form. His younger brother, Kyle, plays alto sax and would have shown up to the jam but got bogged down with homework.

Teo would like to study jazz in college. "There's nothing else like it; you can be creative with the dynamics of the solos and slip in your own material on the fly," he said. "It's where the unexpected happens."

Jazz also fosters communication onstage and off. "I can have anxiety speaking with people sometimes, but when I play, it's like me talking and it's not as awkward," Teo says. "I've made a lot of friends through this music."

Quinn's is located at 330 Main St. in Beacon. The music begins at 8 p.m. There is also a jazz jam on the third Wednesday of each month at The Falcon in Marlboro.

Jack Rohrs remembers the moment he knew he had to own a BMW motorcycle. It was in the 1960s, and he was riding home from the Laconia racetrack in New Hampshire on his Triumph.

"It was vibrating so much, it was taking the screws out of my eyeglasses," said Rohrs, 82, with a laugh. "A guy went by me on a BMW with tooled leather saddle bags; he looked so comfortable he could have been smoking a pipe."

He now owns several BMWs. His greatest find was 22 years ago, when a hunter told him about an old bike in a barn not far from Rohrs' home in Putnam Valley.

He put a note in the mailbox, but it turned out to be the wrong one. "Several weeks later, a man responded, saying he didn't have a motorcycle. But he said the girl next door used to have an old Honda or something."

The bike turned out to be a 1961 BMW R60, in good condition. A Connecticut dealer went over the motor at Rohrs' request and found no problems, other than it hadn't been started in a long time. "The carburetors needed cleaning, the valves needed adjustment and it needed tires," Rohrs said. "But it wasn't beat up, and I was happy with that."

He had the bike painted in a fresh coat of BMW's trademark black and added a small rack to the back. "I've worked hard to get it set up right," Rohrs said. "I can pretty much take my hands off and it doesn't veer left or right." Asked what he'd change, he said, "It needs a new seat."

He doesn't take the bike much past 60 mph but "they're so smooth," Rohrs said. "Years ago they used to say BMWs don't win the races, but they finish; when they were allowed to use superchargers, they won races for years."

The Specs

Assembly: Munich

Production Years: 1956-69

Total Production: 20,133

Engine: 594 cc, 2-cylinder Boxer OHV

Cooling system: Air

Horsepower: 28-30

Gear box: Manual 4-speed, foot shifter

Carburetors: Twin Bing

Starter: Kick

Curb weight: 437 pounds

Top Speed: 90 mph

0-60 mph: 8.3 seconds

Quarter mile: 16.6 seconds

Fuel economy: 58 mpg

1961 Price: $1,131 (about $12,000 today)

He describes his '61 as a fun ride. He bought the sidecar from a farmer in the Finger Lakes. Like the bike, it had sat in a barn for years. "It's a Globe, a BMW knockoff," he said. "I restored it and made brackets."

His wife is a frequent passenger, and it's also ferried a celebrity. Ten years ago, Rohrs was riding near Lake Oscawana and pulled up beside a woman walking along the road. "I said, 'Hop in sweetheart. I'll give you a ride,' " he recalled. "I didn't know her from Adam."

The woman liked the sidecar. "She hopped right in," Rohrs said. It was Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist who died last year at age 96.

Though the odometer reads 45,000 miles, the farthest Rohrs has taken the bike is Rhinebeck, including to a BMW rally there that included a sidecar parade. Replacement parts have been easy to find, he said, and being a member emeritus of the Finger Lakes BMW Motorcycle Club provides valuable contacts.